House Brody (Novel: House Bromden)
House Brody (Novel: House Bromden) is one of the five Noble Houses of Duilintinn. It is led by Lord Chase Brody (Novel: Lord Marion Bromden). History Modern Day Though it has been three years since the end of the Second Great Famine, House Brody has yet to recover fully from its effects. Though crop yields have finally returned to expected levels, it will be many more years before the farmers can produce enough seeds to replant the following year with no shortages. In addition, The Enemy has renewed his assault on the borders of House Brody and their lands, burning their fields, homes, and livelihoods. There are even rumors of the enemy kidnapping children to bolster his force of minions. The Watch has concurred that their sources do not disprove these rumors, although they cannot be certain of their veracity without further leads. Geography House Brody encompasses the Cuartalan Wetlands, rocky foothills of the Northern Mountains, and the northern, far less dry reaches of the Monaidh Plains. To the north, the Northern Mountains rise up with their incredibly steep and craggy peaks. To the east, the Pa'Gille River flows into the fertile wetlands to eventually meet the sea. To the south, fields of wheat, barley, rye, beans, and root vegetables stretch all the way to the borders of House Jackie and banks of the Guardian River. To the west, the Western Forest peeks over the hills and crawls up the mountains. Climate In most of House Brody, the climate is mild in the winter and hot in the summer. House Brody gets a good amount of rain from the mountainous regions to their north, which, combined with the milder temperatures from the coast and its relatively short winters, makes it the most fertile area in the kingdom. The more arid portions of House Brody in the south-west allow it to grow crops that dislike the wetter, milder climate to the north and east. Agriculture House Brody has three climate regions: * Arid grasslands to the South-West * Mild and rainy mountain foothills to the North * Humid wetlands to the East Farmers in House Brody will rotate their crops, allowing the soil to recover nutrients and stay healthy. This means that each region will have multiple crops per season so that they can shuffle around which fields have what crop each year. If the same field had the same crop every year, it would deplete the soil, and a field without enough nutrients to grow food is no good to anybody. Each of House Brody's climate regions will lend themselves to different plants, and allows House Brody to grow the wide variety of crops necessary to feed a kingdom. In addition, there is one planting season in the spring and one in the fall. Different crops will grow better in different seasons. Spring Crops: * South-West: Beans and Barley * North: Peas and Oats * East: Rice, Potatoes, and Herbs Fall Crops: * South-West: Wheat and Green Leafy Vegetables * North: Rye and Root Vegetables * East: Rice, Potatoes, and Herbs Livestock: * In the South-West, you’ll find types of livestock that require big, grassy pastures, such as cattle and lowland sheep. Chickens are also raised in this warm climate. * In the North, you’ll find goats and mountain sheep. Some people also raise geese for their eggs. * In the East, you’ll find fishermen and fish breeding grounds. Other Notes: * The herbs grown in the east are both medicinal and cooking herbs * The north will also plant barley if the previous year’s barley crop was poor * Some crops can be grown in both spring and fall if there is a shortage Culture House Brody is full of people who work in silence harder than everyone else does, yet they often feel like they contribute the least to the Watch itself. A poorer, struggling house, the soldiers from House Brody are often less well-armed in the hope, time, or energy needed to combat the enemy. Many of them feel like The Watch would be better off without them there. However, The Watch wouldn’t exist without House Brody. They are not rich in weapons or resources, but they are the hardest workers and the most stalwart companions. They might not always be able to fight, but without them, The Watch would have no food, tents, or any other necessities that are often overlooked. Watchers from House Brody are the parental friends to all who listen to their wisdom and stories, and they are the best people to go to when you need support. While they aren’t perfect and have their own burdens to bear, they give back as much as they can in little ways that everyone else appreciates, even if they don’t always know it. They’re the Watchers that inspire the others to keep going when times are tough. Grim and fatalistic, yet also jovial and mischievous, House Brody’s culture of playful and dark humor is rivaled only by that of House Marvin. However, House Marvin’s mischievousness comes from their recklessness and experimentation, while that of House Brody is a direct result of their hard, mundane lives. Similarly, House Brody’s dark worldview could not be more different from the skepticism and borderline arrogance common within House Marvin. It is said in other lands that the saddest people smile the brightest, and it could not be truer in the case of House Brody. Though their lands are wracked with famines and constant attacks from the enemy, House Brody has continued to put on the annual kingdom-wide games since their founding in 1593. No one is certain whether this playful culture stems from a need to lighten the darkness faced daily by House Brody or a desire to prevent others from feeling the same darkness. Even though the kingdom has felt two famines in recent decades, House Brody willingly bore the brunt of the starvation and suffering by continuing to ship out similar amounts of resources to the rest of the kingdom during those years of scarcity. While shallow observers might see the culture of House Brody as immature, careless, and in denial, those who know better see them as the silent backbone of the kingdom, keeping everyone else strong and reminding them to persevere in times of trouble. You go to House Schneeplestein if you need education, House Jackie if you need courage, House Marvin if you need innovation, and House Jameson if you need cheer, but if you need a model of strength to inspire you in the days ahead, you go to House Brody. Fundamentally, House Brody is the house of survivors. Not farmers. Not backwater country folks. Not poor people. Not sad people. Survivors. See, being the house with lots of agriculture sets House Brody and its people up for a lot of stereotypes (country, old fashioned, poor, etc.) that I really want to avoid. While a lot of the things I listed above are often tied to survival, they aren’t what tie House Brody together. Rather, it’s the shared experience of hitting rock bottom and continuing to move forward the best they can, even if that’s just waking up each morning. Some of them managed to climb up out of that place. Others feel isolated and alone. Still others are striving to climb up but fall down a lot. That’s not what matters. Being in House Brody isn’t about your situation, it’s about you and your perseverance when everything seems against you. If you’re here, you’re persevering, and I’m proud of you for that. The last thing I want is for that overarching theme in House Brody to get replaced by another rural farmer stereotype. Settlements 'Aghaboy: '''The capital of House Brody, along the southern banks of the Pa'Gille River. Featuring mixed influences of Waldren Occupation architecture and modern construction, this city is home to House Brody's government and the political hubs of House Brody's major guilds. 'Agrona Bastion Outpost: 'An outpost of The Watch, located in the northwestern corner of House Brody along the banks of the Agrona River. Protects the Agrona Bridge from any who would seek to enter Duilintinn from the Western Forest. 'Pa'Gille Caverns Outpost: 'An outpost of The Watch, located in the Northern Mountains over the Cuartalan Wetlands. Serves as a fortress where refugees and important officials can retreat to if necessary and a secure place to store provisions for an emergency. 'Fort Stiofán: 'A garrison of The Watch, located along the banks of the Guardian River, just east of the Beinnfaire Ridge. Focuses on the scholarly and political aspects of The Watch. 'Druffdrom: 'Small town in the Northern Mountains between Aghaboy and Agrona Bastion. 'Tobatyr: 'Prosperous farming town in central House Brody. Birthplace of Lord Brody. 'Fiansara: 'A small town on the road between Cordoire and Fort Stiofán. 'Torthúlacht: 'Growing town centered around an institute focusing on agricultural research and education. 'Slinad: '''Large market town on the edge of the Northern Mountains, just north of Aghaboy. Economy House Brody is the source of almost every raw natural resource Duilintinn needs. From the metals needed in House Jackie’s smithies, to the leather and dyes used by House Jameson, to the main food supply for the entire kingdom, House Brody is an invaluable part of the kingdom’s infrastructure and, by extension, The Watch. House Brody is also the main distributor of alcohol in the kingdom since there’s a lot of grain being grown there. The northern mountains are full of resources such as iron, copper, and good workable stone, so House Brody runs a lot of mining operations. Guilds Three specific guilds hold the most economic and political sway in House Brody: The Order of Stone, Farmers' Guild, and Ocean Men. However, all of Duilitintinn's guilds have at least a minor presence in every Noble House. This is especially true of House Brody, which provides most of the raw materials that many of these guilds rely on. Government and Politics The Lord From 1608 to mid-1614, Lord Brody had not been definitively seen in over five years since the enemy attacked him on the road. There are rumors of a deranged man who wanders the roads, rambling about lost children and dark hallways to anyone who will listen. Some believe this to be Lord Brody, but each investigation by The Watch led only to a dead end. Many believe he has been taken by the enemy, though for what purpose, no one knows. This all changed in the fall of 1614, when Lord Brody suddenly reappeared in Cordoire, bringing more questions than answers in his wake. The Bureaucracy Each Noble House has a bureaucratic system running the day-to-day administrative stuff in the background, and has had one since Duilintinn's founding. The Lords were there to run the whole show, pick what they wanted their lands to strive towards, that sort of thing. The lords were more like a symbolic "this is what we stand for" heads of state than someone with actual administrative power, which was left to the bureaucracies. At first, this required a lot of oversight from each lord to make sure that the bureaucrats were actually doing what they asked of them, but since each house is now full of people with similar ideology and goals, that oversight is much less necessary. Most officials in the bureaucratic part of the government legitimately want the same goals that the Lord wanted (otherwise they would have probably chosen a different house). When the lords disappeared, very little about the actual functioning of the government changed. Instead, the bureaucracy strives to carry on the legacy and aims of their missing lord. Symbols The House Animal of House Brody is a Brownie. Category:Locations Category:Noble Houses